Session 1: The Road to Paris and Beyond - A Primer on Climate Change Policy, Action, and Ethics

Fall 2015

Monday, September 21, 2015 to Friday, October 2, 2015

This session will provide tools for studying the global climate change movement, drawing on the work of CRS and its U.S. and overseas partners. Emphasis will be on the upcoming December 2015 UN Climate Change Conference - its history and anticipated outcomes - and CRS' policy positions stemming from the agency's work in adaptation to climate change.

The session will also address moral and theological voices in the global climate change movement, with emphasis on Pope Francis's encyclical on the environment. Note that Pope Francis's visit to the UN in New York and to the U.S. Congress will take place during this session (allowing us to draw on current news for our webcast and online discussion).

"The stakes are high: the aim is to reach, for the first time, a universal, legally binding agreement that will enable us to combat climate change effectively and boost the transition towards resilient, low-carbon societies and economies." - Paris 2015: UN Climate Change Conference

Secondary Resources

Climate Change Facts, by the Global Catholic Climate Movement. Includes 16-minute video based on the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The video considers several questions, among which: 1) What role does inequality play in the way climate change impact is felt? 2) In what ways are people mitigating and adapting to climate change? 3) What will enable necessary mitigation and adaptation internationally?

Suzanne Van Hulle, "Impact of Climate Change on Health" Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 49/6, November 2017, pages 596-597. Van Hulle discusses the implications of climate change on Catholic Relief Services' efforts in public health, notably "undermining our investment in supporting national malaria control programs in developing countries to control and prevent malaria activities ... and jeopardiz(ing) the health for millions". She describes three adaptation strategies that CRS is using to guide countries address these concerns through advocacy and on-the-ground efforts: (1) prepositioning food, nutrition, and other health commodities and supplies; (2) developing health messages aimed at helping communities identify changes in their living environment; and (3) supporting Ministries of Health to ensure they are able evaluate and send time-sensitive messages. Impact of Climate Change on Health.pdf